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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. hand — help
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. file — a document
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pass — a permit
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a tool

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