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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rash — a series
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bore — to drill
  6. game — a match
  7. court — for sport
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bore — to tire
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rash — hasty
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — of law
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. court — of a king
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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