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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. game — wild animals
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pop — to visit
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pop — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. racket — for tennis

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