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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.

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: wound · cold · wax · fan · mouse · ball · wake · chip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chip — for betting
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mouse — the animal

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