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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. file — a document
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. chip — for betting
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — help
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bulb — of a plant

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