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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 · sharp · staff · nail · charge · wax · date · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wax — to grow
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. cap — a hat
  7. date — the fruit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — not warm
  12. staff — employees
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. staff — employees
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — an illness
  19. charge — in control
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. staff — a stick

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