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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ground — a position
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. race — humankind
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bass — low music
  19. rock — music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. race — a contest
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bass — the fish

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