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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — of water
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — music
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spring — a coil
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wax — to grow
  14. swing — in golf
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pop — soda
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. pop — to visit
  23. vault — a safe
  24. racket — a loud noise

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