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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: wax · cold · cell · snap · hand · squash · wave · ruler

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. squash — the sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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