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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · club · lash · foot · straw · wax · swing · degree

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. swing — music
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. swing — in golf
  6. club — for golf
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. club — a group
  14. foot — a measure
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. club — for dancing
  24. degree — an amount

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