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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. drill — army training
  10. game — a match
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. stand — to bear
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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