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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. present — a gift
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. sharp — clever
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — there
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. row — a line
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. perch — the fish
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pound — a weight
  18. row — to paddle
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wax — to grow
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pound — for dogs

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