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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fine — high quality
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wax — to grow
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rest — a break
  9. fine — all right
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rest — what's left
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. rest — what's left
  17. staff — employees
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. staff — employees
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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