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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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. fine — all right
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. snap — to click
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. dip — to sink
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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