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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. root — of a word
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — help
  14. root — of a plant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wax — to grow
  19. root — the cause
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. game — a match

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