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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. land — to come down
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. content — happy
  19. wax — to grow
  20. content — the amount
  21. kick — in football
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. land — a country

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