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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. wax — to grow
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lean — to bend
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. scale — in music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. last — to go on
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. craft — a skill
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lean — thin
  24. swing — music

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