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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rash — a series
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cue — for pool
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cue — a hint
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wake — a trail

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