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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rock — a stone
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — a tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — child
  18. rock — music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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