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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mate — to breed
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — in an idiom

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