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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cap — a hat
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bass — low music
  24. pound — for dogs

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