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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. firm — decided
  9. row — to paddle
  10. content — happy
  11. sharp — clever
  12. staff — employees
  13. firm — steady
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. row — a line
  17. cell — a phone
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — the amount
  24. wax — for sculpting

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