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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. swing — music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lean — thin
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mate — to breed
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wax — to grow
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. lean — to bend

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