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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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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: deal · hand · straw · wax · mine · game · craft · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. game — a match
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mine — for digging
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wax — to grow
  17. craft — a skill
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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