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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. bass — low music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pop — soda
  6. press — to push
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pop — music
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a music group
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. bass — the fish
  21. track — a path
  22. band — a ring
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — to visit

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