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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. mug — a cup
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. staff — employees
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. deal — to handle
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — wild animals
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — of the year
  18. band — a ring
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — to grow
  21. season — in sport
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a match
  24. season — to add flavour

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