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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: pop · snap · cold · wax · stick · shower

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pop — soda
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. snap — to click
  13. pop — music
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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