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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — magic
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. cell — a phone
  10. club — for golf
  11. net — for catching
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spell — a short time
  14. club — a group
  15. swing — to play on
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spell — letters
  18. field — farmland
  19. wax — to grow
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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