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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. swing — in golf
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. plane — a tool
  8. swing — to play on
  9. track — a song
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — money
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — to grow
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mug — a cup
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mug — to rob
  24. capital — a city

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