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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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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: snap · face · rule · row · fork · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. face — to confront
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fork — in a road
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rule — government
  10. row — a line
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. snap — to click
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rule — a law
  16. face — part of the head
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rule — to rule out

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