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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. object — to protest
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — to paddle
  11. object — an aim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. game — wild animals
  14. object — a thing
  15. season — of the year
  16. game — a match
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — a line
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. drill — the tool

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