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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — for paper
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — to cut
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. swing — music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. clip — a video
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — to go on
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — in music
  21. club — for golf
  22. last — final
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. swing — in golf

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