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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. snap — to click
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — help
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. key — in music
  24. rush — a thrill

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