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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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. rest — a break
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. press — to push
  5. present — there
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to click
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. press — a publisher
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — a gift
  15. hand — help
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. present — the time now
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bat — for baseball

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