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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wind — moving air
  3. content — the amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. last — final
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. firm — steady
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — to go on
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — finally
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bass — the fish
  15. firm — a company
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wax — to grow
  18. firm — decided
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — the sport
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bass — low music
  24. content — videos and posts

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