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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. track — a path
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — to play on
  12. file — a tool
  13. swing — music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. file — a document
  16. sharp — clever
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spring — of water
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. saw — the tool

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