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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitch — completely
  3. board — to get on
  4. pop — music
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. board — a committee
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pop — to visit
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pound — a weight
  17. net — for catching
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pop — soda
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bass — the instrument

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