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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
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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: game · cold · bear · row · field · cue · rock · wax

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — for sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cue — a hint
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. row — a line
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rock — music
  24. cue — a signal

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