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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: can · cabinet · wax · kid · snap · field · content · wind

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. content — happy
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — the amount
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kid — child
  9. can — a tin
  10. field — for sport
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. can — a tin
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to click
  22. field — farmland
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. content — videos and posts

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