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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — to grow
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. row — to paddle
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. row — a line
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pop — to visit

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