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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. spring — the season
  3. content — the amount
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — in golf
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wax — to grow
  13. drill — the tool
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — to play on
  18. content — happy
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spring — of water
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. spring — a coil
  24. swing — music

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