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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bass — low music
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bass — the fish
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bark — to shout
  14. craft — boats
  15. track — a song
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wax — to grow
  18. squash — the sport
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. track — a path
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. craft — a handicraft

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