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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · staff · clip · shower · track · wax

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — clever
  3. track — a song
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — for paper
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wax — to grow
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. clip — to cut
  14. shower — rain
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. track — to keep track
  18. clip — a video

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