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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cell — in biology
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. sharp — clever
  17. swing — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. swing — in golf
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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