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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mug — a cup
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bore — to drill
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fork — in a road
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mug — a face
  23. clip — a video
  24. bore — to tire

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