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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wax — to grow
  9. key — the most important part
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. key — for a lock
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. shower — rain
  17. bore — to drill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bore — to tire
  23. key — in music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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