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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — part of the head
  11. swing — in golf
  12. face — to confront
  13. swing — to play on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rash — a series
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stock — shares
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stock — goods

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