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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mark — a grade
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mark — a trace
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to click
  9. clip — to cut
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. foot — a measure
  13. clip — for paper
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. clip — a video
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cell — in a prison

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