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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: ball · pop · wax · mug · rest · ground · game · fall

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mug — to rob
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pop — music
  6. game — a match
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mug — a face
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pop — soda
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — a position
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rest — a break
  24. ball — a round shape

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