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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cue — for pool
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — child
  14. wax — to grow
  15. game — a match
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cue — a hint

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