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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — to rip
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. game — a match
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wax — to grow

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