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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: bass · squash · mug · mate · kid · wake · pound · wax

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pound — a weight
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mug — a face
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mug — a cup
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. kid — child
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mug — to rob
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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