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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — to grow
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fine — all right
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. land — to come down
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bat — the animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fork — in a road

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