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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — of law
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wax — to grow
  10. branch — a division
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — final
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. court — for sport
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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