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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: bat · bass · bank · face · wax · squash · wound · dip

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bass — the fish
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. dip — to sink
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bass — low music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — an injury
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bank — for money

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