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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pitch — completely
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. court — of a king
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — for sport
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — to grow
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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