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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — to go on
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. snap — to click
  11. saw — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — final
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — finally
  24. rush — to hurry

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