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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — a subject
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bass — low music
  12. rest — a break
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. field — farmland
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. row — a line
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — for sport

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