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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — finally
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mate — a friend
  12. game — wild animals
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. swing — music
  18. last — final
  19. mug — to rob
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — to go on

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