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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bass — the fish
  9. content — happy
  10. bass — low music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. content — the amount

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