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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 116 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: wax · bay · bass · swing · game · last · ground · squash

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ground — a position
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. last — final
  11. swing — to play on
  12. game — a match
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. last — finally
  18. squash — the sport
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ground — the earth
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. last — to go on
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. game — a kind of play

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