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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — a country
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bore — to drill
  10. shower — rain
  11. snap — to click
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bore — to tire
  14. land — to come down
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. land — ground
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. can — a tin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. can — a tin
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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