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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — the animal
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wound — an injury
  7. root — of a word
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. root — the cause
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wax — to grow
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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