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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cell · object · cold · land · club · wax · net · hide

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — a group
  7. object — to protest
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. net — in sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — ground
  18. net — for catching
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — a country
  21. club — for golf
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — to keep secret

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