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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bass — low music
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — dry grass

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