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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. track — a path
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. snap — to click
  14. stem — to come from
  15. swing — in golf
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. club — a group
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. track — a song
  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