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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.

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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. key — in music
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — a friend
  15. capital — a city
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — for a lock
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mate — a partner

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