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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. march — music
  3. club — a group
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. object — a thing
  13. board — a committee
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tear — from crying
  18. object — an aim
  19. board — to get on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — the month
  23. club — for golf
  24. wax — to grow

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