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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — the sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. squash — to crush
  11. game — a match
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — wild animals
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. shower — rain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — to grow
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. wind — moving air

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