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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: racket · ruler · cell · chest · hide · snap · wax · ground

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ground — the earth
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chest — a box
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ground — a position
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. snap — to click
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. racket — for tennis

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