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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. game — a match
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fall — the season
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. plane — a tool
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — a series
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — an aircraft

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