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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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 speak sharply
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. track — a song
  11. march — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. object — a thing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chest — a box
  18. object — to protest
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. track — a path
  21. march — the month
  22. object — an aim
  23. march — the month
  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