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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cap — of ice
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wax — to grow
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chip — for betting

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