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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. charge — a price
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spell — magic
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fine — high quality
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. charge — in control
  23. fine — all right
  24. spell — letters

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