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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — a box
  4. rock — music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — of water
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rest — a break
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bass — low music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — a coil
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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