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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 120 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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. sharp — clever
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — of a word
  12. land — ground
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. root — of a plant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lie — to recline
  23. land — to come down
  24. root — the cause

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