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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. scale — in music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. land — a country
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — the fish
  20. land — to come down
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fall — the season
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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