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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pop — soda
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pop — music
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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