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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — for catching
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. net — after costs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. net — in sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. game — a match
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. kid — child
  24. pound — a weight

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