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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. last — final
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rock — music
  9. last — to go on
  10. shower — rain
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. scale — in music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. last — finally
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mouse — for a computer

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