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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitch — completely
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — to grow
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. net — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — for catching
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. game — a match
  24. wind — moving air

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