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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. swing — to play on
  4. land — a country
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. swing — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lie — to recline
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — to come down
  19. track — a song
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. track — a path
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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