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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. file — a document
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — to grow
  6. club — a group
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. club — for golf
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. content — the amount
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — farmland
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. file — a tool

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