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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 116 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 · wax · spell · cabinet · hide · calf · spring · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — the season
  16. spell — magic
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. calf — of the leg

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