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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — music
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rock — a stone
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pop — soda
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rock — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — farmland
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. dip — to sink
  23. field — a subject
  24. dip — to dunk

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