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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — all right
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rule — a law
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. march — music
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rule — government
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — high quality
  24. board — a committee

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