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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — to bend
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spell — a short time
  11. band — a music group
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spell — magic
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bass — low music
  21. spell — letters
  22. wax — to grow
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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