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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: club · land · saw · ball · cold · fine · toast · wax

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. club — for dancing
  5. toast — bread
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — high quality
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. club — for golf
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. land — ground
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. land — a country
  19. club — a group
  20. ball — a dance
  21. fine — all right
  22. saw — the tool
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. wax — in the ear

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