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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — in golf
  10. net — after costs
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. net — for catching
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. season — of the year

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