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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: hand · straw · snap · game · chip · ground · fall · wax

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. game — a match
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — in cards
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chip — to eat
  11. fall — the season
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — help
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ground — crushed
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ground — a position
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wax — to grow

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