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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · game · pitcher · kid · wind · rule · racket · wound

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — a match
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kid — child
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kid — to tease
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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