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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mug — a face
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to click
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mug — a cup
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mug — to rob
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — a video
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wax — to grow

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