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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mate — a partner
  11. band — a ring
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mate — a friend
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. swing — music
  24. cabinet — ministers

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