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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — to play on
  3. kid — child
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wax — to grow
  8. band — a ring
  9. swing — in golf
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. board — to get on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. board — a committee
  22. pass — a permit
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ruler — for measuring

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