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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. club — for golf
  4. last — to go on
  5. stock — shares
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. stock — goods
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. spell — letters
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. prune — to trim
  15. club — a group
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — for dancing
  18. object — an aim
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spell — magic
  21. swing — to play on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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