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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pass — a permit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. vault — a safe
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. sharp — clever
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bound — tied together

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