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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · lie · wax · cell · club · fall · snap · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fall — the season
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fall — to drop
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cell — a phone
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wax — to grow
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. club — for golf
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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