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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. net — in sport
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. race — a contest
  8. cue — a hint
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a ring
  11. cue — for pool
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — completely
  17. race — humankind
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fall — the season
  20. cue — a signal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a music group
  23. kick — in football
  24. band — a rubber band

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