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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wax — to grow
  8. scale — in music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. craft — a skill
  15. scale — size or range
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bass — low music
  23. craft — boats
  24. wax — in the ear

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