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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. saw — the tool
  6. sharp — clever
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — the earth
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. field — a subject
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ground — a position

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