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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bass — low music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. row — a line
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stand — to bear
  16. date — the fruit
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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