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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: key · cap · calf · wax · kid · saw · tube · cold

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kid — child
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cap — a lid
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — of ice
  14. tube — a container
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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