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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. degree — an amount
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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