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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. net — in sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. net — for catching
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. net — after costs
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. game — wild animals
  13. key — in music
  14. date — the fruit
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — a series
  17. ball — a dance
  18. game — a match
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rash — hasty

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