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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: snap · lean · cap · trunk · tear · foot · wax · kid

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cap — a lid
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kid — child
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. snap — to click
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. lean — thin
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cap — a hat
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cap — of ice
  21. foot — a measure
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — to tease

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