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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. drill — army training
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. content — happy
  14. last — final
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rock — music

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