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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: straw · pitcher · foot · chip · wax · present · cold · snap

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — not warm
  7. snap — to click
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wax — to grow

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