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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chest — a box
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. present — there
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chest — of your body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. present — a gift
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. present — the time now
  23. pass — a permit
  24. snap — to click

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