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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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468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cue — a signal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — in football
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spell — magic
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — child
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — an injury

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