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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: scale · kid · wax · cell · craft · kick

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kid — child
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kid — to tease
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. craft — boats
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football

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