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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. drill — the tool
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. drill — army training
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — a series
  13. swing — to play on
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. scale — in music
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rash — hasty
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wax — to grow
  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