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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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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: craft · dip · cold · wax · bowl · band · cell · nail

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. craft — boats
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — a phone
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. dip — to dunk

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