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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: cold · wax · field · calf · wound · coach · club · cap

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for golf
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. club — for dancing
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. field — a subject
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cap — a lid
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — a group

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