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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bass — low music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bound — certain
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. squash — the sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. bass — the fish
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bound — tied together
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bound — obliged

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