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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bulb — for light
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. track — a path
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — the animal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bound — obliged
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bound — certain
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. track — a song

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