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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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Word bank
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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: dip · pitcher · ruler · wax · snap · row · bat · fine

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fine — all right
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. row — a line
  10. bat — the animal
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pitcher — a jug

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