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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — magic
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. staff — employees
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spell — a short time
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. staff — employees
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bass — the fish
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spell — letters

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