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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. craft — boats
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — to come down
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chip — for betting
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wax — to grow
  16. drill — army training
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. land — a country
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chip — in a computer

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