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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. present — the time now
  5. spell — magic
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. swing — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — letters
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. court — of law
  14. chest — a box
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. court — for sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. swing — to play on
  23. court — of a king
  24. swing — in golf

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