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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — there
  3. mug — a cup
  4. present — a gift
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. date — the fruit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. mug — a face
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. clip — to cut
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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