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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rush — hurry
  7. kick — in football
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. row — a line
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bulb — for light
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — with a leg

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