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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. land — to come down
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — a country
  16. bulb — for light
  17. land — ground
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. net — after costs
  21. bound — certain
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wax — in the ear

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