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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — a country
  5. ground — a position
  6. wax — to grow
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. ground — crushed
  19. capital — money
  20. land — to come down
  21. capital — a city
  22. bass — the fish
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. nail — for a hammer

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