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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to click
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — to rip
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. content — happy
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wax — to grow

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