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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. race — humankind
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. file — a document
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ball — a dance
  7. firm — decided
  8. bass — low music
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. field — a subject
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bass — the fish
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — farmland
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. firm — a company
  20. file — a tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. kick — in football
  23. firm — steady
  24. wax — in the ear

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