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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — for catching
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chest — a box
  17. last — final
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — after costs

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