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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bass — low music
  5. present — the time now
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bass — the fish
  12. branch — a division
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — the season
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. present — a gift
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — there

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