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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wax · wake · racket · rock · jam · toast · cold · sharp

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rock — music
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. toast — bread
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — a trail
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rock — a stone
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. wax — for sculpting

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