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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: cabinet · cold · wax · chair · cell · kid

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kid — child
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wax — for sculpting

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