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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. land — a country
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to click
  13. scale — in music
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. face — to point toward
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — size or range
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — to go on

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