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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rock — music
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rock — a stone
  9. sharp — clever
  10. last — final
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. ball — a great time
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. last — to go on
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — finally

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