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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cap — a hat
  6. last — finally
  7. rock — music
  8. hand — help
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. swing — music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rock — a stone
  15. hand — in cards
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cap — of ice
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. last — final
  22. wax — to grow
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wax — for sculpting

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