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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a ring
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. hand — in cards
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mate — a friend
  18. hand — help
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mate — a partner
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. band — a music group

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