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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. track — a path
  4. lean — thin
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. net — for catching
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — after costs
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. hand — help
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. track — a song
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. sharp — clever
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kick — in football

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