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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. object — to protest
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spell — a short time
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rest — a break
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wax — to grow
  14. object — an aim
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — a thing

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