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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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Word bank
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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wax — to grow
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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