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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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. lean — to rest against
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. charge — in control
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lean — thin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. charge — a price
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — in biology
  20. charge — electricity
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. date — the fruit

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