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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bass — the fish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. land — ground
  8. track — to keep track
  9. club — a group
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. club — for golf
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — a country
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. track — a path
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — to come down
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. track — a song

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