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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rash — hasty
  5. face — part of the head
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cell — a phone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rash — a series
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — to confront
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a match
  21. can — a tin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. net — after costs
  24. cell — in biology

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