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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: mine · wave · snap · rock · arm · spring · wake · date

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spring — the season
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. date — the fruit
  11. snap — to click
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — a coil
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mine — belonging to me

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