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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. key — for a lock
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ground — crushed
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — a position
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  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