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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · wax · ball · wake · chip · spell · snap · pitch

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — to come down
  3. chip — for betting
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — a short time
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ball — a dance
  9. snap — to click
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spell — letters
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. chip — in a computer

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