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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tube — a container
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a document
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. bark — to shout
  17. charge — in control
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tube — in a tire
  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