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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — of a king
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — soda
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pop — to visit
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. snap — to click
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cap — a hat
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hand — help

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