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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.

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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 · cold · jam · trunk · band · tube · sharp · suit

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wax — to grow
  3. suit — in cards
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. suit — clothes
  12. band — a ring
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. tube — the underground
  15. suit — to fit
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. jam — a tight spot

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