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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. shower — rain
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. swing — music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — a container
  15. shower — to wash
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. clip — for paper
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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