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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mate — to breed
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. lean — thin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — ground
  19. bound — certain
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. mate — a partner
  23. ground — the earth
  24. swing — music

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