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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.

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: bass · chest · craft · wax · wind · ball · game · pitch

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — low music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. craft — boats
  18. wax — to grow
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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