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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cell — a phone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. content — happy
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — the amount
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wax — to grow
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. sharp — exactly

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