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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kick — in football
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. dip — to sink
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a match
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rush — hurry
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. track — a path
  22. wax — to grow
  23. file — a tool
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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