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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. content — happy
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. swing — in golf
  11. charge — in control
  12. track — to keep track
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. track — a song
  16. race — humankind
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. track — a path
  20. content — the amount
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — electricity
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wax — in the ear

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