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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. game — a match
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wind — moving air
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wind — moving air
  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