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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pop — soda
  4. rest — a break
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. game — a match
  18. spring — the season
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spring — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — a coil
  24. game — a kind of play

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