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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pop — music
  3. track — a path
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cap — a hat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fall — the season
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cap — a lid
  24. coach — a trainer

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