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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: bat · current · hand · wax · sharp · nail · land · cue

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. land — to come down
  5. current — of water
  6. hand — in cards
  7. current — happening now
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cue — a hint
  10. current — electric
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hand — help
  17. land — ground
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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