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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 120 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. snap — to click
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — a line
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wax — to grow
  21. foot — a measure
  22. track — a path
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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