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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — soda
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. last — final
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. pop — to visit
  12. last — finally
  13. swing — to play on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — music
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. last — to go on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. swing — music

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