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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: net · rock · ground · face · wax · pound · sharp · saw

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. face — to confront
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rock — music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — crushed
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rock — a stone
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — a position
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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