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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bat — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mark — a trace
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ball — a dance
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. squash — to crush

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