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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mate — a friend
  8. row — a line
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. roll — a cake
  16. snap — to click
  17. roll — a list
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. foot — the bottom

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