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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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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: racket · wax · calf · wound · pass · cell · sharp · dip

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wax — to grow
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — in biology
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pass — a permit
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pass — to spend time

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