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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rock — music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hand — help
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. game — a match
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rock — a stone
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. plane — a tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wax — to grow
  21. game — wild animals
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pitch — completely

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