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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rash — hasty
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wax — to grow
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rash — a series
  14. game — a match
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. race — a contest
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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