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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — a line
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chip — to eat
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. swing — music
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. chip — for betting
  17. rest — what's left
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. swing — to play on
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. patient — a sick person

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