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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — the sport
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wax — to grow
  16. current — of water
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. current — happening now
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ball — a great time
  22. squash — to crush
  23. current — electric
  24. stem — to come from

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