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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 120 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: net · mug · wax · snap · cell · pitcher · wind · saw

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mug — a face
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — in sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. net — for catching
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. net — after costs

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