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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rash — hasty
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. branch — a division
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wax — in the ear

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