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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hand — help
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — to drill

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