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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: pop · snap · cold · wax · stick · shower · content · mark

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — happy
  3. mark — a trace
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pop — music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mark — a grade
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. shower — rain
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. pop — to visit
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — soda
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. snap — to click
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — an illness

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