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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: wax · wind · rule · face · roll · root · snap · mate

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. roll — a list
  3. snap — to click
  4. root — the cause
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. root — of a word
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rule — government
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — part of the head
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mate — a friend
  16. rule — a law
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. root — of a plant
  19. face — to confront
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rule — to rule out

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