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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 120 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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Word bank
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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bass — the fish
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. capital — a city
  22. object — an aim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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