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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chair — a leader
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rest — a break
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stand — to bear
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rest — what's left
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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