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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.

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: wind · bass · cold · trunk · row · saw · wax · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bass — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. track — to keep track
  11. row — a line
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — moving air
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. track — a path
  18. wax — to grow
  19. track — a song
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bass — low music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. saw — the tool
  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