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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bass — the fish
  5. club — for golf
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. club — for dancing
  10. scale — in music
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. club — a group
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mug — to rob
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bass — low music

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