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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rash — a series
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rash — hasty
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. key — the most important part
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mate — a friend
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. racket — for tennis

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