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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. track — to keep track
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. track — a path
  15. race — the arms race
  16. net — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. net — for catching
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. club — a group
  21. track — a song
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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