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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: bay · cap · cold · mate · craft · ball · wax · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cap — a hat
  12. craft — boats
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mate — a friend
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cap — a lid

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