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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. drill — army training
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — a box
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kick — in football
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. swing — music
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — to play on
  24. snap — to click

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