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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bulb — for light
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a ring
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a music group
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bass — low music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — a video
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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