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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: cold · object · saw · staff · hand · present · wax · last

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. staff — a stick
  4. last — finally
  5. object — to protest
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wax — to grow
  9. saw — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. present — there
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — a thing
  16. last — to go on
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — final
  21. present — a gift
  22. object — an aim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hand — help

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