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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bound — obliged
  5. last — finally
  6. wax — to grow
  7. object — a thing
  8. last — to go on
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bound — certain
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bore — to drill
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bound — tied together
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. bass — low music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a tool
  23. last — final
  24. file — a document

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