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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. plane — a tool
  14. game — a match
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. chest — of your body
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. scale — in music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — a box
  24. mouse — the animal

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