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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: net · cold · wax · cap · date · land · fine · tube

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cap — of ice
  4. tube — a container
  5. wax — to grow
  6. date — the fruit
  7. net — after costs
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. land — ground
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — for catching
  14. cap — a hat
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. net — in sport
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cap — a lid
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fine — all right

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