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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rest — a break
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kick — in football
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cue — a signal
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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