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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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468
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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. capital — a city
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mate — to breed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. swing — music
  21. rash — a series
  22. mate — a partner
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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