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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wax — to grow
  5. club — a group
  6. march — the month
  7. track — a song
  8. club — for golf
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. track — a path
  17. march — music
  18. wax — in the ear

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