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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. file — a line of people
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a tool
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wind — moving air
  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