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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. spring — of water
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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