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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — a country
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mate — a partner
  10. suit — in cards
  11. land — ground
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rest — what's left
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. suit — to fit
  16. rest — a break
  17. land — to come down
  18. rest — what's left
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mate — to breed
  21. swing — music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. suit — clothes
  24. wax — in the ear

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