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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. swing — to play on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. swing — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a match
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pass — a permit
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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