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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wax — to grow
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. spring — the season
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wax — for sculpting

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