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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. craft — boats
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. band — a music group
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. craft — a skill
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — in sport
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. season — of the year
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. date — the fruit
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rash — a series
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — music
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wax — to grow
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. craft — a handicraft

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