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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. net — after costs
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — soda
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. net — for catching
  19. kid — child
  20. pop — music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. game — a match
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — a kind of play

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