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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. game — a match
  24. pitch — a sports field

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