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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wax — to grow
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. present — the time now
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fork — in a road
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for golf
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. swing — in golf
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. clip — a video
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — clever
  21. present — there
  22. club — a group
  23. present — a gift
  24. wax — in the ear

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