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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. swing — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. swing — in golf
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — the animal
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — of water
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wax — to grow

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