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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.

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: file · saw · season · bay · row · wax · bass · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bass — the fish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — a line
  5. season — of the year
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. season — in sport
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. file — a tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bass — low music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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