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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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468
Word bank
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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. march — music
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — the season
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. march — the month

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