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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: toast · file · club · date · wax · game · sharp · spring

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. club — for golf
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. date — the fruit
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. game — wild animals
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. club — for dancing
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wax — to grow
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — clever
  21. club — a group
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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