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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. charge — a price
  5. rock — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. charge — in control
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. field — a subject
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — farmland

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