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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — child
  4. squash — the sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — to go on
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. face — part of the head
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — wild animals
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. last — final
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wax — to grow
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. kid — to tease
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. deal — to handle

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