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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 · board · hand · wake · season · chip · game · fork

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hand — help
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. board — to get on
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chip — for betting
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chip — to eat
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — in sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. board — a committee
  24. season — of the year

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