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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: kid · net · scale · wax · snap · wind · rock · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. scale — size or range
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rock — a stone
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wind — moving air
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. net — in sport
  17. scale — in music
  18. net — for catching
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — after costs
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — to tease

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