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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wax — to grow
  3. firm — steady
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — clever
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. firm — decided
  21. rule — a law
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. plane — in geometry

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