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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: bark · snap · cold · spell · mark · jam · wax · squash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. snap — to click
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — letters
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  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