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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. drill — army training
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bass — the fish
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bound — obliged
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bass — low music
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mine — an explosive

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