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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — a box
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bulb — for light
  24. swing — music

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