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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — all right
  9. spell — magic
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. snap — to click
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wax — to grow
  24. hand — part of the body

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