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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. last — final
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. last — finally
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. last — to go on
  20. shower — rain
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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