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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. hand — in cards
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cold — not warm
  18. roll — a list
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hand — help

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