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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. snap — to click
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pop — to visit
  10. object — to protest
  11. squash — the sport
  12. court — of law
  13. object — a thing
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — low music
  22. pop — soda
  23. object — an aim
  24. squash — the vegetable

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