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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. swing — to play on
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. season — of the year
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. object — to protest
  8. sharp — clever
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. object — a thing
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. season — in sport
  24. swing — music

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