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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. face — to confront
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mate — to breed
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — rain
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mate — a friend

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