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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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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pop — soda
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — child
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitch — completely
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pop — music
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. kick — with a leg

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