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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. net — for catching
  3. mug — a face
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. net — after costs
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mug — a cup
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — in sport
  12. swing — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mug — to rob
  15. hand — in cards
  16. swing — to play on
  17. game — a match
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hand — help
  22. spring — of water
  23. wake — a trail
  24. game — a kind of play

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