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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: hand · mug · kick · wound · wax · cell · ground · roll

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. hand — help
  5. mug — a cup
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ground — crushed
  15. roll — a list
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mug — a face
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hand — in cards
  23. roll — a cake
  24. hand — part of the body

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