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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. file — a tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — the tool
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to click
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rash — a series
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. board — a flat piece

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