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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spell — magic
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — to grow
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wake — a trail
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — letters

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