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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 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. can — a tin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bank — of a river
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — a container
  20. bank — for money
  21. can — a tin
  22. bank — for money
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wave — of the sea

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