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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. land — ground
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cap — of ice
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. land — a country
  10. field — farmland
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — for sport
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pitch — completely
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. land — to come down
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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