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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wake — a trail
  20. sharp — clever
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. patient — a sick person

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