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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. drill — the tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. drill — army training
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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