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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. staff — employees
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fine — all right
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pop — music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mine — for digging
  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