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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. track — to keep track
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — to go on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cue — a signal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. last — finally
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. cue — for pool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. leaves — to go away

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