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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spell — magic
  3. rest — a break
  4. spell — a short time
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. rest — what's left
  9. march — music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spell — letters
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rest — what's left

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