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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — to protest
  4. wax — to grow
  5. swing — in golf
  6. last — to go on
  7. press — to push
  8. swing — to play on
  9. key — the most important part
  10. object — a thing
  11. key — for a lock
  12. swing — music
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — in music
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. press — newspapers
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — a line
  23. press — a publisher
  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