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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: fine · snap · mark · kid · spring · wax · saw · pitcher

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fine — all right
  7. snap — to click
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. spring — of water
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kid — child
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — the season
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. saw — the tool
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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