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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. rock — music
  2. fall — the season
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rock — a stone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — to grow
  12. shower — rain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  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