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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. face — part of the head
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. face — to confront
  13. snap — to click
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tube — a container
  18. row — to paddle
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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