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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 120 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: can · cold · stick · wax · mug · field · cue · temple

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — farmland
  7. can — a tin
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. field — a subject
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cue — a hint
  14. field — for sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cue — for pool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mug — a face
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cold — the Cold War

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