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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. club — a group
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — government
  8. game — a match
  9. rule — a law
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. club — for dancing
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. mate — to breed
  20. club — for golf
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — in football

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