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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — crushed
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — to play on
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — a position
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. ground — the earth
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stand — to bear
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. wax — to grow
  23. scale — in music
  24. swing — music

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