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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bound — obliged
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — to play on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — certain
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — rain
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wax — in the ear

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