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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rash — hasty
  3. swing — in golf
  4. object — an aim
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. swing — music
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rash — a series
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rule — a law
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — to play on
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rule — government
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — a match

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