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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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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: fork · cold · calf · wax · kid · plane · hide · deal

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kid — to tease
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — child
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. deal — to handle
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cold — not warm
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fork — in a road

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