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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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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fall — the season
  8. wax — to grow
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wax — in the ear

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