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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bass — the fish
  3. band — a music group
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ground — crushed
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — a path
  8. pop — music
  9. object — a thing
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bass — low music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pop — soda
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. object — to protest
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. band — a ring
  21. ground — a position
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. object — an aim

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