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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. firm — a company
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — a series
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — money
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bass — the fish
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. firm — decided
  19. capital — a city
  20. bass — low music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. firm — steady
  24. bass — the instrument

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