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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.

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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: mouse · band · cold · club · pit · trunk · wax · last

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. club — a group
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. club — for golf
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. last — to go on

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