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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chest — a box
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. charge — in control
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — exactly

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