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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cell — in biology
  12. sharp — clever
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tube — a container
  18. cell — a phone
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. sharp — with an edge

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