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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fine — all right
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cue — for pool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wax — in the ear

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