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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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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: chip · wax · mine · stick · object · kid · snap · cold

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chip — for betting
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. object — to protest
  18. kid — child
  19. wax — to grow
  20. object — an aim
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. object — a thing

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