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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. kid — child
  3. net — for catching
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. club — for dancing
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. net — in sport
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. dip — to sink
  13. club — for golf
  14. chip — for betting
  15. net — after costs
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. shower — rain
  21. kid — to tease
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. dip — to dunk

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