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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. snap — to click
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. present — there
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wax — to grow
  10. land — a country
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — a gift
  19. deal — to handle
  20. land — to come down
  21. present — the time now
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pass — to spend time

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