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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 120 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: cold · board · wax · key · mug · pop · fork · kick

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mug — a face
  4. kick — in football
  5. mug — a cup
  6. key — in music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mug — to rob

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