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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wax — to grow
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — the animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. track — a song
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rule — government
  14. staff — employees
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bound — certain
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. track — a path
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wax — in the ear

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