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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. drill — the tool
  5. file — a document
  6. drill — army training
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. cap — a lid
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fork — in a road
  15. drill — a practice
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wax — in the ear

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