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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. hand — in cards
  3. fine — all right
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. field — a subject
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. field — for sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. foot — a measure
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. field — farmland
  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