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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — of the year
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wax — to grow
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — to play on
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. tube — a container
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. swing — music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — rain

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