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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. game — wild animals
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. track — to keep track
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. net — after costs
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. sharp — clever
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. net — for catching
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. track — a path
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. net — in sport
  23. chair — a leader
  24. dip — to sink

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