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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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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: wake · net · fork · wax · cold · mate · perch · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mate — a partner
  17. net — for catching
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — a trail
  21. net — in sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — after costs
  24. perch — for a bird

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