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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: kid · game · can · bat · race · snap · wax · bear

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a match
  4. wax — to grow
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bear — the animal
  7. can — a tin
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — child
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kid — to tease
  19. can — a tin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. snap — to click
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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