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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · wax · season · mug · rest · cold · foot · row

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mug — a face
  3. wax — to grow
  4. foot — a measure
  5. season — of the year
  6. row — a line
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a cake
  13. mug — a cup
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rest — what's left
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. roll — a list

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