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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — in music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cabinet — ministers

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