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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — child
  7. staff — employees
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a document
  10. track — a song
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wax — to grow
  18. track — to keep track
  19. staff — employees
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. firm — a company
  23. track — a path
  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