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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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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: pop · nail · cold · cell · fork · wax · shower · dip

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — to sink
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pop — music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pop — soda
  9. shower — rain
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wax — to grow
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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