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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. key — the most important part
  6. game — a match
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lean — thin
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — wild animals
  12. key — in music
  13. spell — letters
  14. net — in sport
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spell — magic
  17. net — for catching
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wax — to grow
  22. net — after costs
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spell — a short 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