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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a document
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — moving air
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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