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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 120 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: kick · wax · snap · field · band · pop · chest · mark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. snap — to click
  2. kick — in football
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. chest — a box
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. mark — a grade
  14. field — farmland
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — for sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mark — a trace
  23. band — a ring
  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