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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: deal · can · snap · wound · chest · lean · wax · spell

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spell — letters
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. deal — to handle
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — thin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. snap — to click
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — a box

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