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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: chest · wax · foot · saw · patient · bass · pound · key

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. key — the most important part
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. key — for a lock
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — a box
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bass — low music
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. key — in music

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