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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — of law
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rash — a series
  10. game — a match
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rash — hasty
  17. court — of a king
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — for sport
  24. calf — of the leg

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