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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. last — final
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — finally
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mug — a face
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mug — to rob
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lie — to recline
  15. last — to go on
  16. club — a group
  17. game — a match
  18. club — for golf
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kid — child
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. kid — to tease
  24. game — wild animals

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