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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. dip — to sink
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. ground — a position
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wax — to grow
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. swing — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to click
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cell — in biology

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