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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: cold · pit · season · wax · field · row · mouse · ball

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wax — to grow
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. field — farmland
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pit — a hole
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pit — in a race
  20. field — for sport
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. row — a quarrel

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