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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. band — a ring
  3. can — a tin
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. face — part of the head
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — to grow
  16. shower — rain
  17. swing — in golf
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cold — not warm
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. band — a music group

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