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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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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 · leaves · tear · chest · ground · rule · land · wax

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chest — of your body
  3. snap — to click
  4. chest — a box
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — to rip
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — to come down
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rule — a law
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — a country
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. land — ground
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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