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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a document
  8. swing — in golf
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. file — a tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rash — a series
  15. swing — music
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rash — hasty
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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