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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — the tool
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — to grow
  8. drill — army training
  9. lie — to recline
  10. snap — to click
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. lean — thin
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. march — music
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bat — the animal
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bat — in an idiom

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