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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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. snap — to click
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mark — a grade
  7. face — to confront
  8. hand — help
  9. lie — to recline
  10. face — to point toward
  11. hand — in cards
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — a trace
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. swing — in golf
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — of a king
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — music

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