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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to click
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wind — moving air
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. squash — the sport

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