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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. track — a song
  3. mate — to breed
  4. track — a path
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. track — to keep track
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fine — high quality
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wax — in the ear

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