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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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. hide — to keep secret
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a lid
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wake — a trail
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. snap — to click
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pass — a permit

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