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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — high quality
  9. capital — a city
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the fish
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — child
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bass — low music
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. prune — the fruit

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