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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mark — a grade
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — the amount
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mark — a trace
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. march — music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tear — from crying
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wax — for sculpting

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