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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. present — there
  6. season — of the year
  7. swing — to play on
  8. band — a music group
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. swing — music
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pass — a permit
  23. chest — a box
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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