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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a line of people
  8. last — finally
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. snap — to click
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. sharp — clever
  17. file — a document
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a tool
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. last — final
  22. board — a committee
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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