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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. root — the cause
  6. bass — low music
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — a position
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. root — of a word
  20. march — music
  21. face — to point toward
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — crushed
  24. face — part of the head

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