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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 116 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: bass · rule · rest · mark · wound · cold · wax · snap

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bass — low music
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — government
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mark — to pay attention

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