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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. snap — to click
  4. shower — rain
  5. rock — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. can — a tin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rash — a series
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ground — a position
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ground — the earth
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ground — crushed
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rock — to move gently

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