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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: fall · court · track · snap · current · squash · spell · wax

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. spell — magic
  6. squash — to crush
  7. track — a path
  8. wax — to grow
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to click
  12. court — for sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. current — of water
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spell — a short time
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. fall — the season

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