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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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 — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. prune — to trim
  6. roll — a cake
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — for measuring

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