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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. march — music
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — a line
  24. march — the month

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