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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: cell · net · wound · bass · wax · pop · lean · toast

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. net — for catching
  7. pop — soda
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cell — a phone
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bass — low music
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lean — thin
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. toast — bread
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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