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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — a match
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wax — to grow

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