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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: cold · kid · bark · object · fine · wax · can · court

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fine — all right
  12. can — to be able to
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. object — to protest
  16. can — a tin
  17. object — a thing
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. can — a tin
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fine — high quality
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. object — an aim

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