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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. board — to get on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. hand — help
  20. squash — the sport
  21. deal — to handle
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — after costs
  24. board — a committee

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