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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pop — to visit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pop — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lean — thin
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pop — soda
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wax — for sculpting

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