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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to click
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. wax — to grow
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. fine — all right
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cell — a phone
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — clever
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fine — a penalty

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