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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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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 · wax · capital · date · ruler · clip · spring · squash

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. snap — to click
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — money
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. squash — to crush
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. spring — of water
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. clip — for paper
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spring — the season
  18. clip — a video
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. wax — in the ear

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