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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. track — a song
  11. pop — to visit
  12. deal — to handle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pop — soda
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. roll — a list
  17. track — to keep track
  18. pop — music
  19. wax — to grow
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. track — a path
  23. rash — a series
  24. racket — a loud noise

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