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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. lean — to bend
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — to cut
  11. saw — the tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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