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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — an amount
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. club — for dancing
  9. snap — to click
  10. track — to keep track
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. club — for golf
  23. degree — from a university
  24. swing — to play on

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