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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — completely
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. swing — to play on
  9. key — in music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cold — not warm
  12. key — for a lock
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. swing — music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. branch — a division
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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