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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hand — help
  7. cue — a signal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bound — certain
  14. cue — for pool
  15. charge — a price
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — a video
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. clip — to cut
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. charge — electricity
  23. row — to paddle
  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