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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pass — a permit
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bat — the animal
  9. sharp — clever
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. row — a line
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wax — to grow
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. row — to paddle

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