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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bark — to shout
  4. track — a song
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. track — a path
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wax — to grow
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. track — to keep track
  22. squash — to crush
  23. swing — music
  24. bass — the fish

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