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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — in golf
  8. present — the time now
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a face
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — to come down
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — a gift
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. land — a country
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. ground — crushed
  23. present — there
  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