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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. track — a song
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bass — low music
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kick — in football
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bass — the fish
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wake — a trail

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