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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — to rob
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fall — to drop
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. swing — to play on
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — the season
  24. can — a tin

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