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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: lash · kid · can · wind · game · cold · wax · craft

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — to tease
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — to grow
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — a match
  14. craft — a skill
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — child
  22. craft — boats
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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