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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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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 · pit · rash · wax · wind · chest · nail · tear

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pit — a hole
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bass — low music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chest — a box
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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