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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. court — of law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. game — a match
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. game — wild animals
  11. court — of a king
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rule — government
  14. mate — a partner
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rule — a law
  17. court — for sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. file — a document
  24. mate — to breed

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