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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.

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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: arm · fall · wax · scale · firm · cold · nail · net

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. firm — steady
  5. fall — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. net — in sport
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — in music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — a company
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. net — after costs
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — size or range

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