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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: roll · bowl · hand · bear · staff · cold · kid · wax

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. staff — employees
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bear — the animal
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. roll — a cake
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cold — not warm
  23. staff — employees
  24. kid — child

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