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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: craft · wax · snap · kick · bank · root · cold · spring

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cold — an illness
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. craft — boats
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — in football
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. root — of a plant
  10. snap — to click
  11. craft — a skill
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bank — for money
  18. wax — to grow
  19. root — the cause
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — the season
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. kick — with a leg

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