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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. squash — to crush
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. hand — help
  12. bound — obliged
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bound — certain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. scale — size or range
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. scale — in music
  23. bound — tied together
  24. squash — the vegetable

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