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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. march — music
  4. content — the amount
  5. bulb — for light
  6. swing — music
  7. content — happy
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bulb — for light
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. degree — from a university
  15. march — the month
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bass — low music

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