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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bear — the animal
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. club — for golf
  12. last — finally
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — to grow
  20. club — a group
  21. swing — in golf
  22. last — final
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bear — the animal

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