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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. swing — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. swing — in golf
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wax — to grow

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