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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. march — the month
  3. hand — help
  4. march — music
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mug — to rob
  9. present — the time now
  10. kid — to tease
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — child
  15. mug — a face
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wax — to grow
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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