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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. hand — help
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ball — a great time
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cell — in biology

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