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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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 — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mug — a face
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. snap — to click
  17. bass — low music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mug — to rob
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cell — in biology
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. swing — music

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