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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · tube · mate · hand · mouse · scale · wax · squash

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mate — to breed
  11. scale — size or range
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — in music
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — an illness
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. tube — a container
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wax — for sculpting

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