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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: wax · cold · kick · march · jam · ground · rash · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kick — in football
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. march — the month
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — a position
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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