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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.

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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: rock · bay · wax · trunk · hand · bound · wave · cold

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rock — music
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wax — to grow
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bound — certain
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — not warm

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