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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. craft — boats
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chest — a box
  7. craft — a skill
  8. scale — in music
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ball — a great time
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chair — a leader
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chest — of your body
  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