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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: game · scale · present · wax · wake · cold · bear · pit

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wake — a trail
  4. present — the time now
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bear — the animal
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. present — there
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pit — a hole
  21. scale — in music
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wax — for sculpting

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