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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 rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. dip — to sink
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. club — for dancing
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wax — to grow
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. file — a tool

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