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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. pop — music
  5. game — a match
  6. net — after costs
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. mug — a face
  10. current — electric
  11. chest — a box
  12. wax — to grow
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mug — a cup
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — soda
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. net — in sport
  22. pop — to visit
  23. game — wild animals
  24. scale — for weighing

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