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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fall — the season
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — the sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cell — a phone
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kid — child
  21. hand — help
  22. snap — to click
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wax — in the ear

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