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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — low music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — a gift
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. swing — music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — to bear
  22. swing — to play on
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

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