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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: race · pop · wax · net · spell · date · game · pitcher

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. game — a match
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — a contest
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. date — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. net — after costs
  16. race — humankind
  17. spell — a short time
  18. game — wild animals
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — in sport
  21. pop — music
  22. spell — letters
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. race — the arms race

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