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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bass — low music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bass — the fish
  7. last — to go on
  8. face — to confront
  9. bore — to tire
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — finally
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. swing — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. last — final
  24. face — to point toward

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