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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bass — low music
  7. toast — bread
  8. tube — a container
  9. wax — to grow
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. season — in sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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