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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 120 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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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: leaves · mouse · content · fork · snap · wax · last · cold

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. content — happy
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. last — finally
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — final
  22. wax — to grow
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. snap — to click

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