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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: snap · march · land · spring · wax · swing · wake · mug

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mug — a face
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. march — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. swing — music
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a cup
  20. march — the month
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. land — to come down
  24. swing — to play on

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