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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cap — a lid
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — a signal
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bass — low music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bass — the fish
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cue — for pool

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