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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. can — a tin
  9. rest — a break
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. clip — a video
  16. can — a tin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wax — to grow
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — the animal
  21. can — to be able to
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — a match
  24. rest — what's left

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