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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. game — a match
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. perch — the fish
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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