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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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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: snap · bowl · patient · sharp · stick · ruler · wax · cold

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. snap — to click
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. ruler — for measuring

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