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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. march — the month
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. march — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fine — all right
  11. march — the month
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. snap — to click
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pit — a hole
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to snap out of it

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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