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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: net · ground · chest · band · cold · wax · bay · mate

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ground — the earth
  5. net — for catching
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — a position
  10. mate — to breed
  11. net — in sport
  12. wax — to grow
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. chest — a box
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. net — after costs
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — not warm

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