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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 120 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rock — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — for betting
  11. object — an aim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. snap — to click
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. chip — to eat
  20. object — to protest
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. object — a thing
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wax — for sculpting

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