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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — a measure
  3. game — wild animals
  4. swing — music
  5. club — a group
  6. game — a match
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rule — a law
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. club — for golf
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rule — government
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — to paddle
  22. swing — to play on
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. club — for dancing

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