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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.

Make a worksheet

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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fine — all right
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — a match
  7. fine — high quality
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ground — crushed
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wax — to grow
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — child
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ground — a position
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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