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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mine — for digging
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bat — the animal
  18. vault — a safe
  19. fine — all right
  20. pound — a weight
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — in an idiom

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