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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: root · cold · cabinet · capital · mine · mug · wake · wax

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a word
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. capital — a city
  12. wax — to grow
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. capital — money
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mug — to rob
  20. root — the cause
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mug — a face
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wake — a trail

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