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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. last — final
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rest — what's left
  13. last — to go on
  14. rest — a break
  15. last — finally
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rush — a thrill

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