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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wax — to grow
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tube — a container
  24. patient — a sick person

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