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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. game — wild animals

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