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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for dancing
  8. game — wild animals
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — music
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. club — for golf
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. club — a group
  22. game — a match
  23. pop — soda
  24. capital — money

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