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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. ball — a great time
  2. land — ground
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. race — a contest
  5. swing — in golf
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — the arms race
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. date — the fruit
  13. race — humankind
  14. wax — to grow
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ball — a dance
  17. swing — to play on
  18. land — a country
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. land — to come down
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. swing — music
  23. wax — in the ear
  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