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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.

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: wound · hide · rash · wax · date · file · cold · bowl

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. file — a tool
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. file — a document
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wound — an injury
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a line of people
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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