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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. court — of law
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. club — for golf
  10. swing — in golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. mark — a trace
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wax — to grow
  18. court — of a king
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — for sport
  21. swing — music
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. tear — from crying

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