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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pop — to visit
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — music
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — a box
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pop — soda
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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