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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — a position
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — help
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. scale — in music
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wax — to grow
  20. band — a music group
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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