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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bass — the fish
  7. capital — money
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cue — a hint
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a friend
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cue — a signal
  19. capital — a city
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wax — to grow

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