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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. hand — in cards
  5. swing — in golf
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. file — a document
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. pit — a hole
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wax — to grow

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