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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rash — hasty
  5. face — to confront
  6. rash — a series
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. land — a country
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. roll — a list
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. roll — a cake
  21. face — to point toward
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — part of the head

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