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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bass — low music
  7. rush — hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. capital — a city
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. capital — money
  24. perch — 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