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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. file — a tool
  5. wax — to grow
  6. file — a document
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. saw — the tool
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. tube — a container
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. row — to paddle
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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