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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bank — for money
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rash — hasty
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — a video
  8. bass — the fish
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pop — music
  12. rash — a series
  13. lean — thin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pop — to visit
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pop — soda
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wax — to grow

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