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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — a box
  5. wax — to grow
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — child
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lean — thin
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cap — a hat
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — clever
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chest — of your body
  24. drill — army training

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