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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — in football
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. clip — a video
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. staff — employees
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. staff — employees
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. track — a song
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — a stick

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