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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. hand — help
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. chip — to eat
  17. rock — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. file — a tool

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