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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 116 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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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: club · kid · band · lie · saw · patient · sharp · wax

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. kid — to tease
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kid — child
  8. band — a ring
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. saw — the tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. wax — to grow
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lie — to recline
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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