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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pop — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. scale — size or range
  7. spell — magic
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. spell — a short time
  10. swing — music
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. scale — in music
  14. pop — soda
  15. current — happening now
  16. ground — a position
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spell — letters
  20. pop — to visit
  21. clip — for paper
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. clip — to cut

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