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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.

Make a worksheet

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: clip · wax · cold · toast · pitcher · file · stand · mug

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. clip — a video
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. file — a document
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. toast — bread
  19. mug — a face
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mug — to rob

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