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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.

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: bat · nail · trunk · hide · club · game · wax · cold

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. game — a match
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hide — to keep secret

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