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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: pitcher · wax · can · jam · land · cold · rash · fall

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. land — to come down
  10. can — a tin
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rash — a series
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. jam — a tight spot

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