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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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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: wax · saw · ball · wind · chip · cold · spell · straw

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spell — magic
  6. chip — for betting
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cold — not warm
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spell — letters
  23. wax — to grow
  24. saw — the tool

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