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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bat — the animal
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. snap — to click
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — child
  11. shower — rain
  12. pit — a hole
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pit — in a race

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