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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — in football
  13. staff — employees
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. kid — child
  19. stock — shares
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — a stick

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