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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: wax · sharp · bass · land · kick · bear · present · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. present — there
  5. wax — to grow
  6. ground — a position
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. land — to come down
  9. present — the time now
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. present — a gift
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kick — in football
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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