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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. swing — music
  5. net — for catching
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — a line
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — after costs
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — in sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fan — to cool the 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