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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — magic
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. hand — help
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. net — in sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. wax — to grow
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — clothes
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spell — letters
  20. suit — in cards
  21. net — after costs
  22. rash — hasty
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — for catching

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