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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bass — low music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pit — in a race
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. field — farmland
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ruler — for measuring

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