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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — to come down
  4. roll — a cake
  5. game — wild animals
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. current — electric
  17. game — a match
  18. land — a country
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. land — ground
  22. roll — a list
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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