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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bass — low music
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rest — what's left
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a tool
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rest — a break
  24. file — a document

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