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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of law
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. track — a song
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — crushed
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — low music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — in sport
  16. track — to keep track
  17. net — for catching
  18. track — a path
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the fish
  22. court — for sport
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — the earth

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