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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — an amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. game — a match
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. firm — a company
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. net — in sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. game — wild animals
  22. firm — steady
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wax — for sculpting

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