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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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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: wax · trunk · last · cap · cold · rule · wake · lash

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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. lash — an eyelash
  4. last — finally
  5. cap — a lid
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — final
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. rule — a law
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rule — government
  24. wake — a trail

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