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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. season — in sport
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. can — a tin
  14. kid — to tease
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bark — to shout
  17. can — to be able to
  18. degree — from a university
  19. season — of the year
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — in golf
  24. can — a tin

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