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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chest — a box
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — to grow
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lie — to recline
  10. can — a tin
  11. present — the time now
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. race — humankind
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — a contest
  22. present — there
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. race — the arms race

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