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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. swing — in golf
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wax — to grow
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fine — high quality
  12. march — music
  13. swing — music
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fine — all right
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cold — the Cold War

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