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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fine — high quality
  3. track — a path
  4. squash — to crush
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. track — a song
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fine — all right
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. shower — rain

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