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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — the tool
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — child
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chair — a leader
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — final
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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