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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wax — to grow
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fork — in a road
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. plane — a tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — a division
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. snap — to click
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. branch — of a bank

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