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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.

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: cold · game · bass · calf · wax · nail · mine · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — a match
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. game — wild animals
  11. can — to be able to
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — an illness
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. can — a tin

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