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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. season — of the year
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — to grow
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rock — a stone
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. game — wild animals
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rock — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. game — a kind of play

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