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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — the season
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rock — music
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spring — of water
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  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