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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. club — a group
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mark — a trace
  10. club — for dancing
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. club — for golf
  18. season — of the year
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wax — for sculpting

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