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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. snap — to click
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. present — a gift
  11. fork — in a road
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. current — electric
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. current — of water
  19. present — there
  20. current — happening now
  21. present — the time now
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. swing — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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