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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — money
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. swing — to play on
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. swing — in golf
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — after costs
  18. wax — to grow
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — a supporter

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