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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. charge — in control
  4. hand — help
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wax — to grow
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. charge — electricity
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mate — a partner
  20. charge — a price
  21. dip — to sink
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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