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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — wild animals
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cell — in biology
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. current — electric
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. snap — to click
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. game — a match
  20. craft — a skill
  21. land — a country
  22. craft — boats
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. craft — a handicraft

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