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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. spring — of water
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bound — obliged
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. spring — a coil
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chair — a leader
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spring — the season
  23. bound — certain
  24. fork — in a road

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