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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. staff — employees
  7. toast — bread
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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