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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. suit — to fit
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. branch — a division
  10. band — a ring
  11. wax — to grow
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. swing — in golf
  14. suit — in cards
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. suit — clothes
  20. band — a music group
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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