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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: spring · coach · ground · pound · snap · face · fork · wax

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spring — the season
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pound — a weight
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to click
  13. face — to confront
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ground — a position
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fork — in a road
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pound — to hit hard

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