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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: kid · cue · present · sharp · lie · wax · scale · rush

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. lie — to recline
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rush — hurry
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. present — a gift
  16. scale — in music
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. present — the time now
  20. cue — a signal
  21. scale — size or range
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kid — child
  24. present — there

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