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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: fall · wax · snap · clip · mouse · charge · bat · deal

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. charge — a price
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fall — the season
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. charge — electricity
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. charge — in control
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  24. clip — for paper

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