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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. swing — in golf
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. snap — to click
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. key — for a lock
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ball — a great time
  15. swing — to play on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. key — the most important part
  20. ball — a dance
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. swing — music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. root — of a plant

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