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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — happy
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. saw — the tool
  6. dip — to sink
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. swing — in golf
  10. club — a group
  11. wax — to grow
  12. content — the amount
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hand — in cards
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — help
  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