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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — to grow
  7. content — happy
  8. swing — in golf
  9. content — the amount
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — to play on
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. band — a music group
  24. bowl — a dish

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