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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. sharp — clever
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — an amount
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — to point toward
  10. squash — the sport
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — to grow
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — to confront

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