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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wax — to grow
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. swing — music
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. suit — to fit
  13. land — to come down
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. kid — to tease
  17. suit — clothes
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — child

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