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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. content — the amount
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mate — a partner
  10. content — happy
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — final
  13. row — a line
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — finally
  16. bound — tied together
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — certain
  20. mate — to breed
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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