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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. club — for golf
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — final
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — finally
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pass — to spend time

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