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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: scale · wax · wound · stick · clip · bear · mate · cold

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bear — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — a friend
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mate — a partner
  15. clip — a video
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mate — to breed

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