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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bear — the animal
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wax — to grow
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fine — high quality
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — final
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fine — all right
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. last — to go on
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. last — finally
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bear — the animal
  24. fine — a penalty

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