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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bass — low music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a hat
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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