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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — in sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. suit — to fit
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fall — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. suit — in cards
  20. scale — in music
  21. net — after costs
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. net — for catching
  24. fall — to drop

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