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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. current — happening now
  6. face — to confront
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. band — a ring
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. face — to point toward
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. game — a match
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. band — a music group
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. game — wild animals

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