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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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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: pit · land · snap · kid · bat · object · wax · arm

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. land — a country
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. object — to protest
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pit — a hole
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wax — to grow
  20. object — a thing
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. land — ground
  24. pit — in a race

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