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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kid — child
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — in cards
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wax — to grow
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spring — of water
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — the season

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