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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. present — there
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pop — soda
  10. present — the time now
  11. game — wild animals
  12. present — a gift
  13. mine — for digging
  14. game — a match
  15. branch — a division
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wax — to grow
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pop — music
  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