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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — a division
  3. rash — a series
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. ball — a great time
  6. net — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — hasty
  23. staff — employees
  24. ball — a dance

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