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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. row — a line
  4. club — for golf
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wax — to grow
  7. drill — army training
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bass — low music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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