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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — to wash
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. shower — rain
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. last — final
  12. root — of a word
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — shares
  17. dip — to sink
  18. root — the cause
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — in golf
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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