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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — to tease
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — a position
  13. bass — the fish
  14. ground — the earth
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. toast — bread
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rush — hurry
  24. patient — a sick person

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