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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. swing — to play on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mug — a cup
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. swing — in golf
  9. snap — to click
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mug — a face
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. march — music
  22. swing — music
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. march — the month

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