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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — to tease
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rush — hurry
  8. key — the most important part
  9. roll — a cake
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. key — in music
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. game — a match
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wax — to grow
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. roll — a list
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pitcher — a jug

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