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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. land — to come down
  3. bass — low music
  4. land — a country
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hand — in cards
  8. scale — size or range
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — in music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pass — a permit
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. mark — a grade
  20. squash — to crush
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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