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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — to grow
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. branch — a division
  9. content — happy
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. row — to paddle
  15. content — the amount
  16. row — a line
  17. game — a match
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wave — of the sea

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