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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — the tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. game — wild animals
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wax — to grow
  19. face — to confront
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. face — part of the head
  22. race — a contest
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — the animal

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