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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. bass — the fish
  12. object — a thing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. drill — army training
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — low music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cell — in biology
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cell — in a prison

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