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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. present — a gift
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — magic
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spell — a short time
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — a match
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pound — a weight
  19. present — there
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. present — the time now

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