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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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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — low music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. can — a tin
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. can — a tin

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