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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wax — to grow
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. court — of law
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pop — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. pop — soda
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. net — in sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. net — for catching
  16. court — of a king
  17. pop — to visit
  18. net — after costs
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wax — for sculpting

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