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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fall — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to click

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