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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. snap — to click
  3. last — final
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. hand — help
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. object — an aim
  8. last — finally
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — the fish
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. last — to go on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. vault — a safe
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. object — to protest
  20. bass — low music
  21. object — a thing
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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