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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bound — tied together
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. march — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — certain
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bound — obliged

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