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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: snap · cue · pass · suit · wax · field · cold · mine

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — for digging
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. suit — to fit
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — a subject
  10. suit — clothes
  11. wax — to grow
  12. suit — in cards
  13. snap — to click
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. field — farmland
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — for sport
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cold — not warm

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