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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. rock — music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. file — a document
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wind — moving air
  8. charge — electricity
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — in control
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bass — the fish

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