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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bound — certain
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — army training
  6. bound — tied together
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bound — obliged
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — music
  13. plane — a tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — to play on
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. swing — music
  24. march — the month

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