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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bulb — for light
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. file — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a document
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. drill — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bulb — for light
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — to grow
  22. drill — army training
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. march — the month

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