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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bear — the animal
  5. club — a group
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. swing — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. club — for golf
  14. kid — to tease
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. current — happening now
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. swing — to play on
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kid — child
  22. chip — to eat
  23. current — of water
  24. dip — a sauce

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