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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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Word bank
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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: mouse · kid · snap · hand · bound · bat · wax · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bound — certain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pit — in a race
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bound — obliged

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