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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitch — completely
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pound — a weight
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wax — to grow
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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