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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. land — a country
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hand — help
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — of the year
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. land — ground
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — clever
  14. land — to come down
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. suit — in cards
  20. season — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — clothes
  24. fork — in a road

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