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

Word bank: wax · sharp · chair · perch · cue · cold · kick · wake

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — in football
  21. sharp — clever
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. sharp — exactly

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