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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — help
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — the season
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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