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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitch — completely
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. kid — child

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