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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — high quality
  5. can — a tin
  6. wax — to grow
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. can — to be able to
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — a city
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. press — to push
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. press — a publisher
  18. capital — money
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. can — a tin
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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