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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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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: band · wax · bulb · foot · track · cold · kid · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a ring
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. foot — a measure
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bulb — for light
  15. kid — child
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. rest — a break

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