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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. hand — help
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bat — the animal
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. foot — part of the body

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