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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. last — to go on
  3. rest — what's left
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a document
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rest — what's left
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bass — the fish

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