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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. file — a tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wind — moving air
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — in golf

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