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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — music
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. swing — to play on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. field — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. game — a match
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cap — of ice
  19. field — a subject
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. field — farmland

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