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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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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: toast · content · hand · wax · shower · last · perch · snap

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. hand — help
  5. snap — to click
  6. toast — bread
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. hand — in cards
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. content — happy
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — rain
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. shower — to wash

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