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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. swing — in golf
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. swing — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wax — to grow
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lie — to recline
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mate — to breed
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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