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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ground — a position
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. game — a match
  7. object — an aim
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. field — for sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chest — a box
  15. field — farmland
  16. saw — the tool
  17. object — to protest
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cue — for pool
  20. object — a thing
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cue — a hint
  23. field — a subject
  24. wax — for sculpting

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