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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: wind · cell · court · wax · pop · hand · calf · snap

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pop — soda
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. court — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. court — of a king
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pop — to visit
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wax — to grow
  24. court — of law

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