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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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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: mine · wax · cabinet · bass · ball · row · nail · cold

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. ball — a great time
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bass — low music
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. row — a line
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — for digging
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. row — to paddle

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