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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — child
  12. craft — boats
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. chip — for betting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chest — a box

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