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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. hand — help
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — in cards
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stem — to come from
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stem — of a plant

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