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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: cold · squash · chip · court · wind · dip · lie · wax

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. court — for sport
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — of law
  13. lie — to recline
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wax — in the ear

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