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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rash — hasty
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. club — for dancing
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rash — a series
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. club — a group

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