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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: snap · last · mine · tube · wax · spell · content · degree

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — an amount
  4. content — the amount
  5. tube — a container
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. content — happy
  10. tube — the underground
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wax — to grow
  14. snap — to click
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. last — to go on
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — final
  24. tube — in a tire

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