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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · safe · bass · rush · straw · wax · kick · ground

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kick — in football
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. wax — to grow
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ground — a position
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — the earth
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bass — the instrument

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