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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 116 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hand — help
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — in cards
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. track — a path
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ball — a dance
  24. nail — for a hammer

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