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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 120 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
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: cold · kick · track · spell · hide · plane · wax · bass

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spell — letters
  13. bass — low music
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. track — a path
  18. spell — magic
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — the fish
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. kick — in football

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