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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: bore · saw · cold · wax · capital · chip · straw · lean

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. lean — to bend
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. lean — thin
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — not warm
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — money
  24. wax — to grow

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