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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — a match
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bound — certain
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bound — tied together
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. bound — obliged
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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