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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.

Make a worksheet

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: ball · craft · toast · can · patient · wound · wax · cold

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. can — to be able to
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a dance
  14. toast — bread
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. can — a tin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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