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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — to grow
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — there
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. game — wild animals
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. hand — part of the body

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