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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 · land · lash · bowl · wax · nail · track · roll

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. land — ground
  7. wax — to grow
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. track — a path
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lash — to lash out

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