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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — the season
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. staff — employees
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bass — low music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bass — the fish

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