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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 124 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rock — a stone
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. object — to protest
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cell — a phone
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hand — help
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. snap — to click
  24. rock — 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