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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. march — the month
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bat — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — the month
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. march — music

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