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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. track — to keep track
  5. file — a line of people
  6. suit — clothes
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. track — a path
  10. hand — help
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. suit — to fit
  13. land — ground
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — a country
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. file — a document
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — to come down
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. track — a song

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