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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 120 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rash — a series
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stock — goods
  5. object — to protest
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — to cut
  8. object — a thing
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. object — an aim
  13. spring — the season
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — a leader

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