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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. last — final
  8. swing — in golf
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. craft — boats
  14. tear — from crying
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wax — to grow
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. degree — temperature
  19. last — to go on
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. trunk — of a tree

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