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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. club — for golf
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rash — a series
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. club — a group
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rash — hasty
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — a permit
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — a sauce
  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