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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — after costs
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. club — for dancing
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — a friend
  12. net — for catching
  13. club — a group
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. chip — to eat
  16. tear — from crying
  17. net — in sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. club — for golf
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cabinet — ministers

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