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

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — a match
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wax — to grow
  17. game — wild animals
  18. band — a music group

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