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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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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: cold · jam · kid · ruler · bound · club · wax · stand

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — a group
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. stand — on your feet

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