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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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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — money
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — a city
  10. mug — a face
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wind — moving air

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