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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. club — for golf
  4. dip — to sink
  5. fall — to drop
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. fall — to drop
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. shower — rain
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bound — tied together
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. club — a group
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fall — the season
  24. wax — for sculpting

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