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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: cold · club · cabinet · wax · saw · date · bore · can

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. club — a group
  7. date — the fruit
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bore — to tire
  11. saw — the tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for golf
  17. can — a tin
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. saw — the tool
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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