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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. board — a committee
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spell — magic
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spell — a short time
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lean — thin
  13. chip — to eat
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — to get on

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