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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — magic
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cold — an illness
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. charge — in control
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spell — a short time
  16. object — to protest
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. object — a thing
  20. charge — a price
  21. object — an aim
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. spell — letters

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