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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pop — soda
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mark — a trace
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — to grow
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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