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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — a group
  8. pop — music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — an explosive

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