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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: content · hide · sharp · wax · club · wind · cold · foot

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — for golf
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. content — happy
  22. sharp — clever
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — the amount

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