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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chip — for betting
  7. game — wild animals
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chip — to eat
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wax — to grow
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fine — all right
  20. game — a match
  21. date — the fruit
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. date — on the calendar

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