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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cap — a hat
  5. row — a line
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — a tool
  10. charge — electricity
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cap — a lid
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. charge — a price
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. charge — in control
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wax — to grow
  24. game — a match

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