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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. pass — a permit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tube — a container
  17. capital — a city
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pop — soda
  20. row — a line
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — to paddle

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