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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · bass · wax · tube · ground · safe · hide · row

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bass — the fish
  8. tube — a container
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. ground — the earth
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ground — a position
  17. bass — low music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. row — a line
  24. safe — out of danger

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