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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. club — for golf
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — a group
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. race — humankind
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — a contest
  24. fork — in a road

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