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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ball — a great time
  5. current — electric
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. current — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chest — a box
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wax — in the ear

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