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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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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fine — all right
  8. game — a match
  9. bear — the animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bear — to put up with

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