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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. object — an aim
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. court — of law
  9. bulb — for light
  10. court — of a king
  11. object — a thing
  12. wax — to grow
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. drill — army training
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. object — to protest
  24. cell — in biology

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