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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. roll — a list
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — help
  9. roll — a cake
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bore — to drill
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. club — a group
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bore — to tire

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