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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. staff — employees
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chest — of your body
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bass — the fish
  8. file — a document
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chest — of your body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — a box
  17. staff — a stick
  18. key — in music
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. key — for a lock
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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