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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. hand — in cards
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — completely
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — to grow
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. foot — a measure
  18. march — the month
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  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