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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bass — low music
  3. branch — a division
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wax — to grow
  10. net — for catching
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bulb — for light
  13. staff — employees
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rash — a series
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the fish
  19. staff — a stick
  20. net — in sport
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. net — after costs
  23. game — a match
  24. staff — employees

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