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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. drill — army training
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. object — to protest
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. drill — a practice
  17. object — an aim
  18. game — wild animals
  19. object — a thing
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitch — completely
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kick — in football

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