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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. court — of law
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wax — to grow
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — for sport
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. lean — to bend
  12. court — of a king
  13. chest — a box
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. craft — boats
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — to sink

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