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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: rest · snap · wound · kick · rock · hand · wax · sharp

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rest — a break
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rock — music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hand — in cards

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