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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 124 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. foot — a measure
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. swing — music
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. row — a line
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. row — to paddle

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