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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — final
  4. row — a line
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. last — to go on
  10. hand — help
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pop — soda
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pop — music
  24. ball — a great time

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