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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. court — of law
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mate — a friend
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ground — crushed
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — to grow
  12. court — for sport
  13. mate — to breed
  14. pound — a weight
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — the earth
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ground — a position
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ball — a dance

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