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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. That must've been 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. chair — to sit on
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wax — to grow
  8. season — in sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rush — hurry
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chair — a leader
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. net — for catching
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. season — of the year
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rush — a thrill

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