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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. field — farmland
  6. land — to come down
  7. bark — to shout
  8. land — a country
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a great time
  18. land — ground
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. field — for sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. field — a subject
  24. stand — to bear

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