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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — low music
  3. suit — in cards
  4. court — of law
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. court — for sport
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. drill — army training
  10. suit — to fit
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. court — of a king
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bass — the fish
  16. drill — the tool
  17. perch — the fish
  18. suit — clothes
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. perch — for a bird

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