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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 120 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: rock · plane · bark · pitch · ball · club · bass · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bark — to shout
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. ball — a dance
  16. rock — a stone
  17. ball — a great time
  18. club — for golf
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rock — music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low 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