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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. degree — temperature
  15. staff — employees
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — a video
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. clip — to cut
  24. degree — an amount

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