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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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. snap — to snap out of it
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — a leader
  6. foot — a measure
  7. snap — to click
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wax — to grow
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bore — to tire
  18. content — happy
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. bore — to drill

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