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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to click
  4. land — to come down
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. land — ground
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. toast — bread
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. land — a country
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. kick — in football
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. face — to confront
  24. hide — animal skin

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