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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: wave · cold · face · spell · bark · snap · mug · band

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mug — a face
  6. snap — to click
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mug — to rob
  10. face — to confront
  11. spell — letters
  12. band — a ring
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mug — a cup
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bark — to shout
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — magic
  22. band — a music group
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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