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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: wake · sharp · patient · face · board · kid · wax · cold

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. sharp — clever
  6. board — a committee
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. face — to confront
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — child
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wake — a trail
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. face — to point toward
  24. board — a flat piece

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