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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — a match
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ball — a dance
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bass — low music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com