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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in biology
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. shower — rain
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — in football
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. snap — to click
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wax — to grow
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kick — with a leg

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