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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · saw · sharp · mate · wax · bat · rush · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rush — hurry
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bat — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mate — a partner
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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