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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rash — hasty
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rash — a series
  6. current — happening now
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fall — the season
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — a group
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. swing — in golf
  22. current — electric
  23. squash — to crush
  24. current — of water

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