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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: spring · band · wound · wax · arm · jam · snap · chip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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