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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. swing — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rock — a stone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. net — in sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — for catching
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. squash — to crush
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — to shout
  16. net — after costs
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. swing — in golf
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wax — for sculpting

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