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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. track — to keep track
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. track — a song
  5. face — part of the head
  6. key — in music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wax — to grow
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. face — to confront
  12. track — a path
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. court — of a king
  16. swing — music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. face — to point toward
  19. court — for sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. snap — to click
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — of law

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